Classical art is given new life when taken out of the museum and onto the streets

The Outings Project encourages people globally to go to their local museum, take a photo of an unknown figure in a painting, and set them free by posting a large-scale print out of the figure on a public wall. It gives the figure a broader audience, making it more accessible to groups that don’t normally engage with fine art. French artist Julien de Casabianca got the inspiration for this project when he noticed an otherwise unremarkable portrait at the Louvre which caught his eye.

“I saw a young woman in an abandoned painting in the corner, she was bored,” he wrote to Slate Magazine. “I had a ‘Prince Charming’ impulse: I wanted to free her from the castle to give her a second life.”

Casabianca also advises participants to avoid posting on public buildings and monuments in order to so they’re not perceived as vandalising the building. Neglected or forgotten corners are much safer to post on and can also add more character to the artwork. [h/t slate.com]